fHE KINGSLEY MGIIJSII TEXTS 



HE Vision of Sir Launfa: 



LOWLLL 



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Palmer 

Company 




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Book. 



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Cfje llingsilep Cnglisfj Wtxta 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 



JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL 



EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION, NOTES, OUTLINE 
STUDY AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 

BY 

MAUD ELMA KINGSLEY, A.B., A.M. 

AND 

FRANK HERBERT PALMER. A.B., A.M. 



BOSTON, U. S.A. 
THE PALMER COMPANY 

130 Boylston Street 
1910 



Copyright iqio 

BV 

The Palmer Company 



©CI.A25915 9 



CONTENTS 



Preface . . . 

Introduction: 

The Motif of the Poem .... 

Source and Teaching of " The Vision of 
Sir Launfal " 

The Mediaeval Castle 
The Vision of Sir Launfal 

Prelude I . 

Part I 

Prelude II 

Part II 

Outline Study 

Examination Questions 



PAGE 



1 

7 

12 

16 

3 

16 



PREFACE 



It is the aim of the editors of the Khtgsley English 
Texts to furnish the student with all that is necessary for 
the proper understanding and appreciation of the books, 
without distracting his attention and burdening him 
with superfluous matters. Many publishers include 
with The Vision of Sir Lauxfal a few other selec- 
tions from the same author, in order to fill out the vol- 
ume to larger dimensions. But tastes would differ as 
to which poems should be selected in such a case ; and 
it seems better to advise the student to own a complete 
edition of a given author's works, and select for himself 
after thoroughly mastering a single writing. The mate- 
rial found in the Introduction of the present volume, 
together with the Outline Study and Examination Qties- 
tions, should furnish the reader with a good working 
knowledge of this particular poem, and stimulate his 
interest in the other writings of the author. 



INTRODUCTION 



I. The ]Motif of ''The Vision of Sir Launfal'* 

The office of true poetry is not to amuse or instruct, 
but to develop the emotional side of human nature, to 
stimulate the higher and nobler instincts which belong 
to the spiritual rather than to the animal nature of man. 
The emotions to which the poet may successfully appeal 
are numberless. Love, religious devotion, pride of race 
and ancestry have, in all ages, furnished fruitful themes 
for the noblest song ; but the poet's art is ne\er more 
worthily employed than when he appeals to man to for- 
get for the moment the animal instinct of self-preserva- 
tion and self -gratification, and to sacrifice himself for 
the glory of service to his kind. 

Differing circumstances demand different forms of 
self-sacrifice. At the very dawn of our ci\'ilization we 
read that the Greeks, who, more than any other race, 
loved life and dreaded death, were inspired by the war 
songs of Tyrtaius to throw themselves on hostile spears 
for the glory and advantage of their tribe. At a later 
period of European history, when the physically helpless 
were entirely at the mercy of the physically strong, the 
hero of song was the chivalrous knight errant, who 
devoted his strength and skill and daily risked his life 
for the protection of the helpless and oppressed. In 



viii INTRODUCTION 

the present age, civilized man everywhere is bending 
all his energies toward the improvement of his condi- 
tion, materially and intellectually ; and animal instincts 
prompt to hardness of heart, greed, and a selfish disre- 
gard for the feelings and aspirations of others. In this 
struggle, the weaker individual needs neither champion 
nor protector ; he needs help ; and he alone can be a 
benefactor to mankind who is content to share w^here he 
might excel, and who uses superior abilities or advan- 
tages to advance, not to hinder, the aspirations of the 
less fortunate. 

This is the inspiring note of The Vision of Sir 
Launfal. It is nothing that Sir Launfal is willing to 
relieve the immediate necessities of the beggar ; to be 
praiseworthy he must lend his strength to the fight 
against the adverse conditions to which the beggar has 
been forced to succumb. It is not heroism, but base 
desertion, when the strong and well-equipped knight 
forces his way to a higher spiritual plane, and leaves 
misery and degradation behind him. 

The mediaeval garb of The Vision of Sir Launfal 
is nothing more than a fancy dress — a name and a few 
accessories borrowed at random from the overflowing 
storehouses of the literature of chivalry. Mediaeval 
customs and the language and legends of chivalry may 
be studied to better advantage in other connections. 
This poem should be studied for its much needed moral 
lesson, its high literary finish and the exquisite word 
paintings of summer and winter scenery with which it 
has enriched the English language. 



INTRODUCTION ix 

II. Source and Teaching of "The Vision of 

vSiR Launfal" 

Suggestion. — See Outline Study, 

III. The Medeeval Castle 

The mediagval castle was much more than the resi- 
dence of a wealthy landowner. It was a garrisoned 
fortress designed for the double purpose of holding the 
manor or barony in subjection to its lord, and of pro- 
tecting it from external enemies. Over the serfs, who 
tilled the manor land, the lord of the castle exercised a 
dominion limited only by the respect which he might 
feel for the distant and weak royal power, and for the 
spiritual authority of the Church. This power, in the 
hands of tyrants, made the castle a terrible engine of 
oppression to the surrounding country ; but, when the 
lord was a just and humane man, the castle was resorted 
to by all classes as a source of justice, protection and 
relief. 

The castle, whose lord was reputed to be a patron of 
the principles of true chivalry, was constantly thronged 
with guests : knights in quest of adventure, men-at-arms 
looking for employment, wandering friars, gleemen and 
minstrels, merchants, and, like the skeleton at the feast, 
the begging victims of the loathsome diseases and de- 
formities so common in the Middle Ages. All of these 
were entertained according to their several degrees, and 
favored according to their deserts and the ability of the 
lord of the castle. 



X INTRODUCTION 

The castle was not a single building, but rather a 
group of buildings embraced in one system of defense. 
Around the whole was the ditch or moat, usually dry, 
but filled with water in time of siege. Inside the moat 
was the wall, about eight feet thick and twenty feet 
high, surmounted by a parapet for the protection of the 
defending garrison. The chief feature of the wall was 
the great gate between two thick and lofty towers. The 
gate itself was a wooden door, with iron clamps ; in 
front of it the portcullis, a heavy, wrought-iron grate, 
slid up and down in grooves of the masonry. The 
drawbridge across the moat w^as directly in front of the 
gate, and, when drawn up, completely closed the 
entrance. Within this -wall was the main courtyard of 
the castle, lined with offices, barracks, etc. This court- 
yard surrounded the inner castle, which was also 
defended by ditch and wall. Within the inner wall 
was a small courtyard appropriated to domestic uses ; 
and, in the center of all, was the donjon, or keep, a 
tower, five or six stories high, surmounted by turrets 
and battlements. The baronial hall was usually on the 
second floor of this tower, and the private apartments 
of the lord and his family were on the floor above. 

The existing remains of castles, and the few mediaeval 
castles still kept in repair, of which Windsor Castle 
in England is perhaps the best example, show only the 
keep ; but the distinction between the keep and the 
castle as a whole must be kept in mind if we wish to 
understand the descriptions of these fortresses in the 
literature of chivalry. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 



Prelude I 

Prelude I brings to the reader the picture of an ideal 
June day, perfect in every detail : the soft green of hill 
and vaHey dotted with the yellow of marigold and but- 
tercup and dandelion ; the streams, not yet shrunken 
with summer drought, trickling softly through fields 
and meadows filled with all manner of growing things ; 
and, over all, the fleckless blue sky. The spirit of the 
growing season animates all living things. Every plant 
and bush, every blade of grass, sw^arms with insect life ; 
birds are singing and cattle are lowing for very joy of 
living ; and, finally, into the human heart, too, creeps the 
cheering and inspiring influence of the year "at its 
flood." 

I 
Over his keys the musing organist, 

Beginning doubtfully and far away. 
First lets his fingers w^ander as they list. 

And builds a bridge from Dreamland"^ for his lay : 
Then, as the touch of his loved instrument 

Gives hope and fervor, nearer draws his theme. 
First guessed by faint auroral flushes sent 

Alono^ the waverinof vista of his dream. 

1. See Outline Study, Note 2. 



2 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

II 

Not only around our infancy 
Doth heaven with all its splendors lie ;^ 
Daily, with souls that cringe and plot, 
We Sinais^ climb and know it not ; 
Over our manhood bend the skies ; 

Against our fallen and traitor lives 
The great winds utter prophecies ;'* 

With our faint hearts the mountain strives ; 
Its arms outstretched, the druid-^ wood 

Waits with its benedicite ;^^ 
And to our age's drowsy blood 

Still shouts the inspiring sea.'^ 

Ill 
Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us ;8 

The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in. 
The priest hath his fee who comes and shrives^ us, 

We bargain for the graves we lie in ; 
At the Devil's booth are all things sold, 

2. From Wordsworth's "Ode on Intimations of Immortality"— 
** Heaven lies about us iu our infancy." 

3. Sinai was the Mountain of God, at tlie foot of wMcli the children 
of Israel encamped while Moses " went up unto God."— Exodus xix. 3. 

4. As did the Israelitish prophets against the sin and degeneracy 
of the chosen people. Lines 3-6 of stanza II are connected in thought. 

5. Explain tlie significance of tlie epitliet. 

6. " Bless y« tlie XiOrd,"- a line from the Roman Catholic Church 
service. 

7. i. e. Man, even in this prosaic age Clines 11, 13, stanza II), may 
find in every manifestation of Nature an incentive to a higher life. 

8. Caive a specific illustration to support tlie statement of each 
line in stanza III. Point out a purely poetical Trord in tills 
stanza. 

9. Gives spiritual consolation as a preparation for death. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 3 

Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold , 

For a cap and bells^*' our lives we pay, 
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking : 

'Tis heaven alone that is given away, 
'Tis only God may be had for the asking ; 
There is no price set on the lavish^^ summer, 
And June may be had by the poorest comer. 

IV 

And what is so rare^^ as a day in June ? 

Then, if ever, come perfect days ; 
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, 

And over it softly her warm ear lays i^^ 
Whether w^e look, or whether we listen. 
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten ; 
Every clod feels a stir of might. 

An instinct within it that reaches and towers, 
And, grasping blindly above it for light, 

Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers ; 
The flush of life may well be seen 

Thrilling back over hills and valleys ; 
The cowslipi^ startles in meadows green. 

The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,!^ 

10. The insignia of the liceu.-<e(l jester. This line suggests the truth 
wliich has ever rankled in the mind of the poet, viz., that a poet must 
please the multitude or remain unknown. 

11. Show tliat tliia epitliet is a most appropriate one in this 
connection. 

12. So singularly fine. 

13. On >vliat is tlie metaphor of lines 3 and 4 founded? 

14. The Marsh Marigold. 

15. Are chalice and cup absolutely synonymous 1 



4 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

And there's never a leaf or a blade too mean^s 
To be some happy creature's palace ;i~ 
The little bird sits at his door in the sun, 

Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, 
And lets his illumined being o'errun 

With the deluge of summer it receives ; 
His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings. 
And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings ; 
He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest, — 
In the nice ear of Nature which sonor is the best ? 



Now is the high-tide of the year, 

And whatever of life hath ebbed aw^ay 
Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer 

Into every bare inlet and creek and bay ;i^ 
Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it. 
We are happy now because God so wills it ; 
No matter how barren the past may have been, 
'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green ; 
We sit in the warm shade and feel right well 
How the sajD creeps up and the blossoms swell ; 
We may shut our eyes, but we cannot help knowing 
That skies are clear and grass is orrowinof : 

16. Illustrate the meantug of lines 15 and 16. 

17. Comment on the rliyine. 

Suggestion.— Point out two verbs in stanza IV which are used in 
an unusual manner? Does the poet use startles with its transitive or 
its intransitive meaning? C^onsult the Dictionarjr.) Commit to 
memory stanza III. 

18. Explain the metaphor of these four lines and express the thought 
in literal language. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 5 

The breeze comes whis^^ering in our ear 
That dandelions are blossoming near, 

That maize^^ has sprouted, that streams are flowing. 
That the river is bluer than the sky, 
That the robin is plastering his house^o hard by ; 
And if the breeze kept the good news back, 
For other couriers we should not lack ; 

We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing, — 
And hark ! how clear bold chanticleer. 
Warmed with the new wine of the year. 

Tells all in his lusty crowing ! -^ 

VI 
Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how ; 
Everything is happy now. 

Everything is upward striving ; 
'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true 
As for grass to be green or skies to be blue, — 

'Tis the natural way of living : 
W^ho knows whither the clouds have fled ? 

In the unscarred heaven they lea\e no wake ; -- 
And the eyes forget the tears they have shed. 

The heart forgets its sorrow and ache ; 
The soul partakes the season's youth, 

19. TVliat ia the American iiame for this graiiiT Why does the 
poet use this word instead? 

20. Paraphrase the line. Explain the last t^vo words. 

2i. Cite the passages in stanzas III and IV Avhich sho^v that 
the poet's description applies particularly to June in IVew 
England. 

22. To what does the poet compare the clouds and the sky? 
Does the word " unscarred " have a place in such a metaphor 1 



6 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

And the sulphurous--^ rifts of passion and woe 
Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth, 

Like burnt-out craters healed with snow.'^'* 
What wonder if Sir Launfal now 
Remembered the keeping of his vow ? ^•'^ 

23. Referring to the rifts iu the ground in volcanic districts, emit- 
ting sulphurous vapor and other gases. 

24. Paraphrase the expression healed witli siiow. 

25. To search for the Holy Grail. 

Suggestion.— (1) What is the teaching of stanzas IV and V in re- 
gard to the influence of Nature upon the human mind? (2) Point out 
two colloquialisms in stanza IV. Are both of them peculiar to New 
England? {?>) Note the change in meter between stanzas IV and V, 
and describe the effect produced by the change. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 



PART I 

Part I of The Vision of Sir Launfal presents a 
picture no less vi\id than that of Prehule 1, but one 
which is wholly imaginative in its nature. It is a hot 
June morning; cattle are standing knee deep in the 
cool water of the little pools ; flocks of crows are flap- 
ping lazily across the sky ; birds are singing blithely in 
the trees, whose leaves are dancing in the soft summer 
breeze. In the midst of this June splendor frowns a 
gloomy mediieval castle, from whose ponderous gates 
all those wdio are praying for succor are turned merci- 
lessly away. Suddenly, into the foreground of the pic- 
ture, flashes Sir Launfal, clad in gleaming armor, and 
prepared to start on his quest for the Grail, turning his 
back on all the sorrow and wretchedness of the people 
whose lord he is ; young and winsome, haughty and 
imperious, — a typical mediaeval knight. In a dark 
corner of the gateway crouches a loathsome leper, clad 
in pitiful rags, — " the 07ie blot on the su7nmer niorn.^^ 
The knight and the beggar meet for an instant only ; 
but in that brief meeting the character of the knight is 
revealed, the keynote of the whole poem is struck, and 
its moral lesson is brought home to the reader witli 
convincino: force. 



8 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

I 

*' My golden spurs^*^ now bring to me, 

And bring to me my richest mail, 
For to-morrow I go over land and sea 

In search of the Holy Grail i-"^ 
Shall never a bed for me be spread, 
Nor shall a pillow be under my head, 
Till I begin my vow to keep ; 
Here on the rushes^® will I sleep. 
And perchance there may come a vision true 
Ere day create the world anew." 

Slowly Sir Launfal's eyes grew dim, 

Slumber fell like a cloud on him. 
And into his soul the vision^^ flew. 

II 
The crows flapped over by twos and threes, 
In the pool drowsed the cattle up to their knees, 

The little birds sang as if it were 

The one day of summer in all the year. 
And the very leaves seemed to sing on the trees : 
The castle^o alone in the landscape lay. 
Like an outpost of winter, dull and gray ; 
' Twas the proudest hall in the North Countree,-^' 

26. Under what circumstances did a knight receive the golden 
spurs 1 

27. Study Outline Study, Notes 3 and 4. 

28. The ordinary covering of the floor of a mediteval castle hall. 

29. There is no further real action in the poem until stanza IX of 
Part II ; all between is merely the dream of Sir Launf al. 

30. I>oes the feudal castle of stanza II belong properly to the 
setting of stanzas III and IV of the Prelude to Part 1 1 

31. "When used by Londoners and the people of Southern Ei)gland, 
this expression means that part of England north of the river Trent, 
particularly Yorkshire. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 9 

And never its gates might opened be, 

Save to lord or lady of high degree ; 

Summer besieged it on every side, 

But the churlish-'^^ stone her assaults defied; 

She could not scale the chilly wall, 

Though round it for leagues her pavilions tall 

Stretched left and right, 

Over the hills and out of sight ; 

Green and broad was every tent, 

And out of each a murmur went 
Till the breeze fell off at night. ^3 

III 
The drawbridge dropped with a surly clang, 
And through the dark arch a charger sprang. 
Bearing Sir Launfal, the maiden knight, ^^ 
In his gilded mail, that flamed so bright 
It seemed the dark castle had gathered all 
Those shafts the fierce sun had shot over its wall 

In his siege of three hundred summers long. 
And binding them all in one blazing sheaf. 

Had cast them forth : so, young and strong, 
And lightsome as a locust-leaf. 
Sir Launfal flashed forth in his unscarred^^ mail. 
To seek in all climes for the Holy Grail. 

32. State tKe exact significance of tlie adjective. 

33. Explain tiie application in each detail of tlie sustained 
metaplior of stanza II. 

34. A knight whose prowess was yet to be proven. 

35. Show that tliis is an appropriate adjective in this con- 
nection. 

Snggestion.— Point out two unusual verbs in stanza II, and state 
the exact meaning conveyed bj* each. 



lo THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

IV 

It was morning on hill and stream and tree, 
And morning in the young knight's heart ; 

Only the castle moodily 

Rebuffed the gifts of the sunshine free, 
And gloomed by itself apart ; 

The season brimmed all other things up 

Full as the rain fills the pitcher-plant's cup. 

V 

As Sir Launfal made morn^*^ through the darksome*^^ 
gate. 

He was 'ware of a leper, ^s crouched by the same, 
Who begged with his hand and moaned as he sate;^^ 

And a loathing over Sir Launfal came ; 
The sunshine went out of his soul with a thrill. 

The flesh 'neatli his armor did shrink and crawl, 
And midway its leap his heart stood still 

Like a frozen waterfall ; 
For «this man, so foul and bent of stature. 
Rasped harshly against his dainty nature, 
And seemed the one blot on the summer morn, — 
So he tossed him a piece of gold in scorn. 

3G. Bi'ightened up the dark passageway. 

37. Give tlie force of tlie sufiix <'some." Mention auotlier 
adjective Tvith tliis suffix used earlier in the poem. 

33. The loathsome disease of leprosy, now almost unknown in 
Europe and North America, was much dreaded in the Middle Ages. 
Pilgrims and crusading soldiers frequently contracted it in the East, 
and it was supposed to be virulently contagious. 

39. Criticise this line. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL ii 

The leper raised not the gold from the dust : 
"Better to me the poor man's crust, 
Better the blessing of the poor, 
Though I turn me empty from his door ; 
That is no true alms which the hand can hold ; 
He ofives nothinor but worthless gold 

Who gives from a sense of duty ; 
But he who gives a slender mite. 
And gives to that which is out of sight, 

That thread of the all-sustaining Beauty 
Which runs through all and doth all unite, — 
The hand cannot clasp the whole of his alms, 
The heart outstretches its eager palms, '^'^ 
For a god goes with it and makes it store 
To the soul that was starving in darkness before."'*^ 

40. Is siicli a persoiiiiicatiou jiistilialile 1 

41. See Outline Study, B, III, 1 and Note 5. 



12 THE VISION OF SIR LA UNFA L 



Prelude II 

In Prelude II the pictured scene has changed. The 
soft breeze, laden with the odors of June and bringing 
with it a thrill of joy to every heart, has become a chill 
wind "carrying a shiver everywhere." Again it is 
morning ; but the cold December sun shines on bare 
meadows and leafless trees and on a silent brook sheathed 
in a shroud of ice. Again the castle rises in the back- 
ground of the picture in sharp contrast to the scene 
around it ; but now it is the landscape which is bleal^ 
and drear, while the castle, with the glow of its great 
Christmas fire, radiates warmth and cheer. 

I 
Down swept the chill wind from the mountain peak,^^ 

From the snow five thousand summers old ; 
On open wold^^ and hill-top bleak 

It had gathered all the cold, 
And whirled it like sleet on the wanderer's cheek ; 
It carried a shiver everywhere 
From the unleafed boughs and pastures bare ; 
The little brook heard it and built a roof 
'Neath which he could house him, winter-proof ; 
All night by the white stars' frosty gleams 

42. Are there any mountain peaks covered with perpetual snow in 
the north of England ? 

43. An upland open plain. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 13 

He groined his arches*"^ and matched his beams ; 

Slender and* clear were his crystal spars"^^ 

As the lashes of light that trim the stars : 

He sculptured e\'ery summer delight 

In his halls and chambers out of sight \ 

Sometimes his tinkling waters slipt 

Down through a frost-leaved forest-crypt, 

Long, sparkling aisles of steel-stemmed trees 

Bending to counterfeit a breeze ; 

Sometimes the roof no fretwork knew 

But silvery mosses that downward grew ; 

Sometimes it was carved in sharp relief 

With quaint arabesques of ice-fern leaf ; 

Sometimes it was simply smooth and clear 

For the gladness of heaven to shine through, and here 

He had caught the nodding bulrush-tops 

And hung them thickly with diamond drops. 

Which crystalled the beams of moon and sun. 

And made a star of every one : 

No mortal builder's most rare device 

Could match this winter-palace of ice ; 

'Twas as if every image that mirrored lay 

In his depths serene through the summer day, 

Each flitting shadow of earth and sky. 

Lest the happy model should be lost, 
Had been mimicked in fairy masonry 

By the elfin builders of the frost. '**^ 

44. i e. Made a vaulted roof of intersecting arches. 

45. Rafters. 

46. Reproduce tliis description of tlie frozen brook, stating 
eaclt, fact in literal language. Hoav many of tliese facts liave 
come under your own observation? 



14 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

II 

Within the hall are song and laughter, 

The cheeks of Christmas glow red and jolly, 
And sprouthig is every corbel'*'^ and rafter 

With lightsome green of ivy and holly ; 
Through the deep gulf of the chimney wide 
Wallows the Yule-log's'*^ roarinir tide ; 
The broad flame-pennons droop and flap 

And belly and tug as a flag in the wind ; 
'Like a locust shrills the imprisoned sap, 
- Hunted to death in its galleries blind ; 
And swift little troops of silent sparks, 

Now pausing, now scattering away as in fear, 
Go threading the soot-fosest's tangled darks'*^ 

Like herds of startled deer.^^ 

Ill 
But the wind without was eager and sharp, ^^ 
Of Sir Launfal's gray hair it makes a harp, 
And rattles and wrings 
The icy strings. 
Singing, in dreary monotone, 
A Christmas carol of its own. 
Whose burden still, as he might guess. 
Was — " Shelterless, shelterless, shelterless ! " 

47. A projection of the wall to support a beam. 

48. A great log rolled into the chimney fireplace at Christmas. 

49. ^(Vhat is the significaiice of this adjective 7 

50. Describe, in your own words, the familiar picture pre- 
sented in lines 11-14 of stanza II. 

51. With what earlier scene does this form a striking contrast 1 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 15 

IV 

The voice of the seneschal'''^ flared like a torch^^ 
As he shouted the wanderer away from the porch, 
And he sat in the gateway and saw all night 
The great hall-fire, so cheery and bold, 
Through the window-slits-'''* of the castle old, 
Build out its piers of ruddy light 
Against the drift of the cold. 

52. The servant in charge of the household. 

53. Critcise tlie simile. How does it differ as to source from 
tlie figures used Iiitlierto T ^Vliat idea as to tlie voice of the seu. 
«schal does this simile give you. 

54. The "Windows of the mediaeval castle were merely long, nai-rbw 
slits in the thick stone wall. 



1 6 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 



PART II 

As in Part I, Sir Launfal fills the foreground of the 
picture ; but the young knight in his gilded mail has 
become a gray-haired outcast, clad in the rags of a men- 
dicant. The gates of the castle are still closed to the 
needy, in spite of the glow of the Christmas fire ; and 
Sir Launfal finds his only shelter from the icy wind in 
the dark corner of the gateway where the leper had 
crouched, on that June day so long ago when the quest 
for the Grail had begun. Again the leper and Sir 
Launfal meet ; and in this second meeting the climax of 
the story is reached, for Sir Launfal's vision fades and 
he awakes to confront the realities of life. 



There was never a leaf on bush or tree,i 
The bare boughs rattled shudderingly ; 
The river was dumb, and could not speak, 

For the weaver Winter its shroud had spun;^ 
A single crow on the tree-top bleak 

From his shining feathers shed off the cold sun ; 
Again it was morning, but shrunk and cold. 
As if her veins were sapless and old 
And she rose up decrepitly 
For a last dim look at earth and sea. 

1. See Outline Study, C, II, 6. 

2. Hovf does this figure compare Tvith that used iii the 
Prelude 1 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 17 

II ♦ 

Sir Launfal turned from his own hard gate, 

For another heir in his earldom sate ; 

An old, bent man, worn out and frail. 

He came back from seeking the Holy Grail ; 

Little he recked of his earldom's loss. 

No more on his surcoat^ was blazoned the cross, ^ 

But deep in his soul the sign he wore, 

The badge of the suffering and the poor. 

Ill 

Sir Launfal's raiment thin and spare 

Was idle maiP 'gainst the barbed air. 

For it was just at the Christmas time ; 

So he mused, as he sat, of a sunnier clime, 

And sought for a shelter from cold and snow 

In the light and warmth of long ago ; 

He sees the snake-like caravan crawl 

O'er the edge of the desert, black and small. 

Then nearer and nearer, till, one by one. 

He can count the camels in the sun. 

As over the red-hot sands they pass 

To where, in its slender necklace of grass. 

The little spring laughed and leapt in the shade, 

And with its own self like an infant played. 

And waved its signal of palms. 

3. The coat worn over the armor. 

4. The distinguishing mark of the Crusacler. To search for the Holy 
Grail aucl to uphold the cross against the infidel in Palestine are in 
this poem regarded as one and the same " quest," although they are 
two distinct motives in the literature of Chivalry. 

5. Compare with Part I, stanza I, line 2. 



1 8 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

« IV 

" For Christ's sweet sake, 1 beg an alms : " — 

The happy camels may reach the spring, 

But Sir Launfal sees naught save the grewsome thing, 

The leper, lank as the rain-blanched bone. 

That cowered beside him, a thing as lone 

And white as the ice-isles of Northern seas, 

In the desolate horror of his disease.^ 

V 

And Sir Launfal said, — " I behold in thee 

An image of Him who died on the tree ; 

Thou also hast had thy crown of thorns, — 

Thou also hast had the world's buffets and scorns, — 

And to thy life were not denied 

The wounds in the hands and feet and side : 

Mild Mary's Son, acknowledge me ; 

Behold, through him, I give to thee ! " ^ 

VI 

Then the soul of the leper stood up in his eyes 
And looked at Sir Launfal, and straightway he 

Remembered in what a haughtier guise 
He had flung an alms to leprosie, 

When he caged^ his young life up in gilded mail 

And set forth in search of the Holy Grail. 

The heart within him was ashes and dust ; 



6. TVIiat facts ^ive point to tliese similes of stanza IVT 

7. See Outline Study, Note 5, paragraph 2. 

8. "What is tlie sisrnilicance of this verb 1 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 19 

He parted in twain his single crust, 

He broke the ice on the streamlet's brink, 

And gave the leper to eat and drink ; 

'T^vas a mouldy crust of coarse brown bread, 

'Twas water out of a wooden bowl, — 
Yet with fine wheaten bread was the leper fed. 

And 'twas red wine he drank with his thirsty soul.^ 

VII 

As Sir Launfal mused with a downcast face, 

A light shone round about the place ; 

The leper no longer crouched at his side. 

But stood before him glorified. 

Shining and tall and fair and straight 

As the pillar that stood by the Beautiful Gate, — '^ 

Himself the Gate^^ whereby men can 

Enter the temple of God in Man. 

VIII 

His words were shed softer than leaves from the pine, 
And they fell on Sir Launfal as snows on the brine. 
That mingle their softness and quiet in one 
With the shaggy^2 unrest they float down upon ; 
And the voice that was calmer than silence said, 
" Lo, it is I, be not afraid ! 
In many climes, without avail. 
Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail ; 

9. See Outline Study, C, I, 4. 

10. "The gate of the Temple, which is called beautiful," where 
Peter healed the lame beggar.— Acts iii. 

11. " I am the door."— John x. 9. 

12. Give the meaning of shaggy unrest, as you understand it. 



20 THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 

Behold, it is here, — this cup which thou 

Didst fill at the streamlet for me but now ; 

This crust is my body broken for thee,^^ 

This water His blood that died on the tree ; 

The Holy Supper is kept, indeed. 

In whatso we share with another's need ; 

Not what we give, but what we share. 

For the gift without the giver is bare ; 

Who gives himself with his alms feeds three — 

Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.''^^ 

IX 

Sir Launfal awoke as from a s wound :>^ 
" The Grail in my castle here is found fi^ 
Hang my idle armor up on the w^all. 
Let it be the spider's banquet-hall ; 
He must be fenced with stronger mail 
Who would seek and find the Holy Grail." 



The castle gate stands open now. 

And the wanderer is welcome to the hall 

As the hangbird is to the elm-tree bough ; 
No longer scowl the turrets tall, 

The Summer's long siege at last is o'er ; 

When the first poor outcast went in at the door, 

13. A paraphrase of the address of Christ to his disciples at the 
"Last Supper."— I^iike xxii. 19-20. 

14. See Outline Study, C, I, 4. 

15. Give tlie moilerii spelling of tlie word. 

16. See Outline Study, B, III, 2. 



THE VISION OF SIR LAUNFAL 21 

She entered with him in disguise, 

And mastered the fortress by surprise ; 

There is no spot she loves so well on ground, 

She lingers and smiles there the whole year round ; 

The meanest serf on Sir Launfal's land 

Has hall and bower at his command ; 

And there's no poor man in the North Countree 

But is lord of the earldom as much as he. 



OUTLINE STUDY 

NO. 10 
THL VISION or SIR LAUNFAL 

(James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891) 



A. Preparatory Work. — American Literature; 

Source of The Vision of Sir La unfa I . 

B. First Reading. — The Narrative of the Poem ; 

The Moral of the Poem. 

C. Second Reading. — Construction of the Poem; 

Study of the Text. 

D. Third Reading. — Literary Criticism. 

E. Supplementary Work. — James Russell Lowell ; 

Supplementary Reading ; Theme Subjects. 



4 Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 

A. PREPARATORY .WORK 

AMERICAN LITERATURE; SOURCE 

OF THE VISION OF 

SIR LAUNFAL 



I. Periods of American Literature 

1. Colonial Age, 1640-1760. 

a. Character of the literature, — theological. 

2. Revolutionary Age, 1760-1830. 

a. Character of the literature, — political and patri- 
otic. 

3. Pioneer Period, 1830-1845. 

a. Representative writers, — Irving and Cooper. 
Suggestion 1. Look up the department of literature filled by each. 

b. The real literature of America begins. 

4. National Age, 1845—. 

a. " Golden Age of American Literature," 1845- 
1880. 



Outline Study X, Thr Vision of Sir Launfal 5 

(1.) "The Great Writers":— 

(a.) James Russell Lowell. 

(b.) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

(c.) John Greenleaf Whittier. 

(d.) Ralph Waldo Emerson, 

(e.) William Cullen Bryant. 

(/. ) Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

(g.) Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

Suggestion 2. What department of literature does each fill? Of 
these writers, which is the oldest ? 

XL Source of The Vision of Sir Launfal 

Note 1. The Vision of Sir Launfal has for its foundation an old 
tradition which formed a part of a set of mediaeval legends 
whose cental figure was King Arthur of Britain. When or 
where these legends had their origin no one knows ; but they 
are a part of that branch of fiction known as the " Romance," 
which, in its most distinctive form, belongs to Europe and the 
Middle Ages. Of all these mediaeval romances, the most 
widely known is the Arthurian Cycle, which, beyond a doubt, 
had its origin in England, in the songs sung by wandering 
harpers and minstrels in the banquet hall and the camp ; songs 
celebrating the achievements of King Arthur, that "goodly 
king," whose name and exploits are known to every schoolboy. 
The first prose compilation of these Arthurian romances 
was made in France, in the latter half of the thirteenth century, 
under the title Morte Arthure. In 1485, the French Morte 
Arthure was translated into English by one Thomas Malory, 
and was printed with the same title as the French original. 
From this compilation the stories have come down to us. This 
Arthurian cylcle consists of several distinct legends, of which 
the one entitled the San Graal, or Holy Grail, has been used by 
Lowell as the motif oi his poem. In order to understand the 
story, the pupils must be told the following facts : — 

1. King Arthur's Round Table. 

Note 2 . This was a literal round table, made^by the magician Merlin 
and given to King Arthur on his wedding day. It seated one 
hundred and fifty knights, and these knights formed an order of 



Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 



knighthood called The Knights of the Round Table, the chief of 
whom were Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Lamerock, A 
favorite enterprise of these Knights of the Round Table was to 
go forth from the court at Camelot in a " quest " for the Holy 
Grail ; a quest which no one could " achieve " who had com- 
mitted any sin. At the round table was a seat called the Siege 
Perilous, because no one could sit in it and live except him who 
was destined to achieve the quest of the Holy Grail. Sir Gala- 
had, the sinless knight, finally achieved the quest. 



2. The Holy Grail, or San Graal. 

Note 3. This was the cup from which our Saviour drank at the last 
supper with his disciples. When Joseph of Arimathea took our 
Lord's body from the cross, he received into the cup, already 
holy, many drops of blood from the Saviour's bleeding wounds, 
thus making the cup doubly sacred. Joseph carried the cup into 
England and kept it there, an object of adoration and pilgrim- 
age for many years. In process of time one of its keepers broke 
the vow which bound him to be pure in thought and word and 
deed, whereupon the Holy Grail disappeared. 

Note 4. It is very hard for the young student to understand just 
what the meaning of the Grail legend is, and he must understand 
it if he is to grasp the significance of the poem about to be 
studied. In the Mediaeval Church, the bread and wine — the ele- 
ments of the Eucharist when consecrated by the officiating priest — 
were supposed to be converted into the actual blood and body of 
Christ. In all descriptions of the Grail in Arthurian romances, 
it seems to be, not a real cup, but simply the visible presence of 
Christ into which the elements were believed to be converted 
after consecration. 

Many of the knights were permitted to catch a glimpse of 
the Graal, and were healed of all their wounds thereby ; but 
only Sir Galahad, as has been said, was successful in the quest. 

When Sir Galahad achieved the quest of the Holy Graal, 
all that is meant is that he saw with his bodily eyes the visible 
Saviour into which the holy bread had been converted : — 

" Then the bishop took a wafer that was made in the like- 
ness of bread, and at the lifting up there came a figure in the 
likeness of a child, and the visage was as red and as bright as 
fire, and he smote himself into that bread ; so they saw that the 
bread was formed of a fleshly man, and then he put it into the 



Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 7 

holy vessel again Then the bishop took the holy vessel 

and came to Sir Galahad as he kneeled down, and there he 
received his Saviour." — Sir Thomas Malory^ s Morte D\irthur . 
"The Quest of the San Graal appears to be a religious 
allegory, representing the sinner's pursuit of justification through 
the blood of Christ, by the adventures of the knights in their 
quest." 

B. FIRST READING 
>^ 

THE NARRATIVE OF THE POEM; 
MORAL OF THE POEM 

L Outline of the Narrative 

1. Part I. 

a. Introduction. 

h. Prelude I. — A June day. 

(1.) Its effect on nature. 

(2.) Its effect on the mind. 
c. The story. 

(1.) Sir LaunfaVs vow. 

(2.) The vision. 

(^.) Summer in the North of England. 
\h.) The castle. 

(c. ) Sir Launfal starts on his quest. 
(d.) First adventure ; its outcome. 



8 Outline: Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 

2. Part II. 

a. Prelude II. — Winter. 

(1.) Its effect on nature. 

h. The vision resumed. 

(1.) Changes at the castle. 

(2.) Change in Sir Launfal. 

(3.) Drift of Sir Launfal's musings. 

(4.) The Leper and Sir Launfal. 

(5.) The leper's transformation. 

(6.) The voice. 

c. Sir Launfal awakes. 

(1.) Lasting effect of his dream. 

Suggestion 3. After the reading, which should be done aloud in 
class, has been finished, the pupils are expected to recite the 
story of the poem from the above outline, quoting 'verbatim the 
lines suggested by the italicised headings. 

11. Summary of the Story 

Suggestion 4 . Reproduce for written work. 

Note 5. Sir Launfal, a young knight, proud of his lineage and his 
great possessions, and intolerant of every one who is not as well 
born as himself, decides to start forth on a quest for the Holy 
Grail, feeling sure that so upright and goodly a knight as he 
will succeed where so many others have failed. On his last 
night at home he falls asleep in the courtyard of his castle and 
dreams ; and in his dream he sees himself setting out on his 
quest. 



OiTLiNK Stldv X, The Visiox of Sir Lauxfal 



As he rides out of the castle gate a leper asks alms from him. 
The loathsome sight annoys the young lord , who has no sympathy 
with suffering and disease, so he scornfully tosses the beggar a 
piece of money and goes haughtily on his way. The leper does 
not touch the coin. He needs money badly enough, but he 
wants nothing that is given without sympathy. 

The years pass on, and the pride and intolerance in the 
young knight's heart keep him from achieving his quest. As 
he grows older and sees more of the world around him ; as his 
flashing, unscarred armor grows dingy and battered ; as his 
riches and power fall away from him, — his arrogance gives place 
to humility, and his heart is filled with sympathy and loving- 
kindness toward suffering humanity. And one day he comes 
back — an old, white-haired man — to his castle, where a usurper 
reigns in his stead ; and as he sits, himself a despised beggar, 
in the very gateway where he had so long before spurned the 
leper, he hears a voice asking for alms, and sees again a leper 
crouching beside him. Sir Launfal's heart goes out in loving 
compassion to the mendicant. In the name of the Christ he 
shares with him his last mouldy crust, and gives him a drink of 
water from his wooden bowl. Then the vision reaches its climax. 
The grewsome leper becomes a glorified being — the Christ in 
whose name the crust of bread was shared ; and Sir Launfal's 
quest is ended ; for the wooden bowl, which had seemed so poor 
a possession, is found to be the Holy Cup itself, revealed to him 
at last by the visible presence of Christ, because he has become 
perfect in sympathy and brotherly love. 

Sir Launfal awakes and takes the lesson to heart. He 
realizes that it is not a material cup for which he ought to seek, 
but the presence of Christ, of which the cup is a symbol ; and 
that this presence can only be found in a heart free from pride 
and full of loving-kindness. Therefore he changes his mode of 
living ; opens his castle to the poor, the suffering, and the home- 
less ; and does Christ's work in the world. 



III. Two Lessons Taught by the Poem 

1. The sin of pride and arrogance ; the beauty of 

sympathy and brotherly love. 

2. That one need not travel far and do great deeds to 

win the favor of Christ. 



10 Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 

C. SECOND READING 

CONSTRUCTION OF THE POEM; 
STUDY OF THE TEXT 

-v. 

I. Construction of the Poem 

1. Four parts strongly antithetical. 

a. Two introductory verses, giving the scheme of 

the composition. 

b. Two preludes. 

Note 6. The " bridge from dreamland, " over which the poet's lay 
gHdes as dreamily as fall the notes from the fingers of the musing 
organist, is the first prelude whose close is marked by ' ' the faint auroral 
flushes" (i e., suggestions of what is to come) which precede the 
theme formally introduced in the last line. 

c. Two parts to the story proper. 

2. Theme of the poem. — The Legend of the Holy 

Grail. 

3. Fundamental thought. (See " Lessons Taught by 

the Poem.") 



Oltlixe Study X. The Vision of Sir Launfal 11 



4. Application of the mvth. 

a. 'Twas a mouldy crust of coarse brown bread, 
'Twas water out of a wooden bowl ; 
But with fine wheaten bread was the leper fed, 
And 'twas red wine he drank with his 
thirsty soul. 

This actual transformation is the central thought of the old 
myth. Lowell's nineteenth century application of it is found in 
the lines, — 

" The Holy Supper is kept indeed, 
In whatso we share with another's need." 

These, with the next two lines, furnish the text and moral 
for the poem. 



II. Study of the Text of the Poem 

1. Glimpses of nature in the text. 

2. Unfamiliar or purely poetical words found in the text. 

3. Passages to paraphrase. 

a. We Sinais climb and know it not. 
h. For a cap and bells our lives we pay. 

c. The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice. 

d. Warmed by the new wine of the year. 

e. Made morn through the darksome gate. 

/. Lines 21-32; 254-257; 172-173; 217-224; 
242-243. 

Suggestion 5. Use a, b, and lines 217-224 for written work. 



12 Outline Study X, The ^"ISION of Sir Launfal 

4. Time and place of the action of the story. 

a. The north of England in the Middle Ages. 

5. Topics for special study. 

a. Mediaeval customs. 

(1.) Knights: their vows ; mode of life of; 

winning the golden spurs. 
(2.) Quests. 
(3.) Mediaeval castles. 
(4.) Rehgion. 
(5.) Classes of society. 
(6.) Christmas in the North of England. 
Suggestion 6. Use for written work. 

6. The contrasts of the poem. 

Suggestion 7. Bring out these contrasts by accurate quotation. 

a. The glowing June day and the chill December 

night. 

b. The little bird among the leaves, and the single 

crow on the tree-top. 

c. The river bluer than the sky, and the stream 

shrouded in ice. 

d. The young knight in his gilded mail, and the 

old man in his scanty raiment. 

e. The loathsome leper, and the glorified mendicant. 
/. The repellant castle, and the hospitable hall. 



Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal ]:] 

7. Pictures from the poem. 

a. A June day. 

h. The repellant castle. 

c. The frozen brook. 

d. A winter morning. 

e. The Christmas fire. 
/. The hospitable castle. 

g. Sir Launfal sets forth in his gilded mail. 

h. Sir Launfal and the leper. 

/'. The being beautiful. 

j. The old man outside the gate. 

Suggestion 8. The pupils are expected to enumerate all the details 
which enter into the composition of each picture. 

D. THIRD READING 

LITERARY CRITICISM OF 
THE POEM 

I. The Poem as a Literary Composition 

1. Excellences of style. 

a. Diction graceful, harmonious, and simple. 

b. Characterized by a " fine sense of analogies." 

(T)isciiss.) 

c. Full of satisfying pictures. 

d. Distinguished by the use of striking Anglo-Saxon 

verbs and epithets. 



14 Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 

(1.) Lavish summer. 

(2.) Thrilling, startles, atilt. 

(3.) Dumb breast. 

(4.) Chilly wall. 

(5.) Surly clang. 

(6.) Flapped, drowsed, gloomed, brimmed, 
wallows, flared. 

Suggestion 9. Discuss the exact significance of each italicized word. 
Give the context by quotation. 

Note 7 . The first prelude, the apotheosis of June, is said to be one of 
the finest examples of perfectly chosen words in the language. 

E. SUPPLEMENTARY WORK 



JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL; SUPPLE- 
MENTARY READING; 
THEME SUBJECTS 



I. James Russell Lowell 

1. Significant facts in his life. 

2. Classification of his works. 

3. Familiar poems. 

Note 8. Lowell should be associated in the mind of the young 
reader with The Vision of Sir Launfal and Bigto-iv Papers. 



Oltlixe Stldv X, The \'ish)X of Sir I.aunfal 15 

II. Supplementary Reading 

1. Tennvson's Sir Galahad. 

2. Selected passages from Idyls of the King. 

3. Extracts from Morte D' Arthur relating to the Holy 

Grail. 

III. Theme Subjects 

1. The Holy Grail. 

2. The Knights of the Round Tabie. 

3. Legends of Joseph of Arimathea. 

4. The Yule Log. 

5. Knighthood. 

6. Quests. 

7. The gift without the giver is bare. 

8. Lessons of the poem. 

9. A June day. 

10. The frozen brook. 

11. For a cap and bells our lives we pay. 

12. Earth gets its price for what earth gives us. 



16 Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfai. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 

1. To what class of poetical composition does The 
Vision of Sir Launfal belong? Point out those 
literary excellences which make the poem a model of 
its class. 

2. What position does The Vision of Sir Launfal 
occupy among Lowell's poems? Is it a "typical" 
poem of its author? Give reasons for your answer. 
What position does The Vision of Sir Launfal 
occupy in American Literature? 

3. Give at some length the reason why The Vision 
OF Sir Launfal is so widely used as a school text for 
English work. 

4. Explain the title and describe in detail the arrange- 
ment of the poem. 

5. Explain the purpose of the preludes. Show the 
extent to which the first eight lines of Prelude I describe 
the author's treatment of his poem. Express in your 
own words the elusive thought of these lines. 

6. What mediaeval legend was the inspiration of this 
poem ? Relate the legend briefly, and describe in full 



Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 17 

the manner in which Lowell has adaoted it to modern 
ideals and principles of conduct. 

7. Have you read any other poems which have been 
inspired by this legend ? If you have read any such 
poems, show how they have differed in treatment from 
the one under consideration. 

8. Write a carefully prepared paper on the subject, 
" The Influence of Nature in Her Different Aspects 
Upon the Human Mind," paraphrasing lines 9-20, 
57-6S and 80-93. Write another on the subject, 
*' Earth Gets Its Price for What Earth Gives Us," 
paraphrasing lines 21-32. 

9. Describe the manner in which the poet leads up to 
his description of a June day. Enumerate all the 
details which enter into the composition of this mar- 
velous word picture. Are these details all true to your 
experience of the manifestations of nature in June? 

10. On what is the figure in lines 33-36 founded? in 
lines 57-60? in lines 91-93 ? 

11. Express in plain language each of the following 
lines : — 

The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice. 
Climbs to a soul i7t grass and Jloivers. 
W^armed with the nezu wine of the year. 
As Sir Launfal made morn through the darksofne 
gate. 
. The cheeks of Christinas grow red and Jolly, 



18 Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 

The soot-foresf s taitgled daj'ks. 

Girt his yoicng life up in gilded mail. 

And the voice that was calme?' than silence said. 

12. Comment on the manner in which the poet 
formally introduces his theme after so long a prelude. 
What is the significance of What wonder-? 

13. What effect does the picture of lines 109, 1 10 pro- 
duce? What picture does line 113 bring to your mind? 

14. Show how the simile of line 115 is expanded into 
metaphor in lines 1 19-127. Express the poet's meaning 
in literal language. 

15. Mr. Lowell has been criticised for placing an old 
feudal castle against a background of typical American 
scenery. What would be appropriate scenery for the 
setting of a feudal castle in the "North Countree*'.'^ 

16. Show that the structure of lines 12S-139 suggests 
the action of the narrative. 

17. From this point relate briefly the story of the 
entire poem. What moral lesson does the poem teach? 
Point out at least two passages which might serve as 
texts for this moral lesson. 

18. Treating the legend and Lowell's application of 
it as an extended allegory, give the symbolic meaning 
of the following features : The Holy Grail., the young 
knight., the leper., the frowsting castle., the coin tossed 
arrogantly to the leper., the mouldy crust humbly 
shared., the Being Beautiful., the transformed castle. 



Outline Study X, The Vision of Sir Launfal 19 

19. Point out the contrasts between the two prehides. 
For what change in the gay young knight does Prelude 
II prepare you ? 

20. Describe in very literal language a frozen brook, 
and compare the details of your description with lines 
181-210. Study these lines carefully, and select those 
passages which seem to you to exhibit the most graceful 
touches of fancy. 

21. Paraphrase lines 211-224. What effect is pro- 
duced by putting together lines 211-224 and the stanza 
included in lines 225-232? 

22. Enumerate all the details which enter into the 
composition of the word picture of lines 240-249. 
What effect does it produce upon you? Is it as true to 
nature as is the description of the day in June? What 
is the poet's purpose in introducing lines 264-272? 

23. The Vision of Sir Launfal is full of striking 
Anglo-Saxon verbs and epithets. Make lists of ten 
each, and discuss the exact significance of each word. 
Discuss at some length the diction of the poem. 
Designate five lines which are exceptions to the general 
exquisite harmony of the poem. 

24. Bring out by accurate quotation the following 
contrasts : — 

( i) The glowing June day and the chill December 

night. 
(2) The little bird among the leaves and the single 

crow on the tree-top. 



20 Outline Study X, The Visiox of Sir Launfal 

(3) The river bluer than the sky and the stream 

shrouded in ice. 

(4) The young knight in his gilded mail and the 

old man in his threadbare raiment. 

(5) The loathsome leper and the glorified men- 

dicant. 

(6) The repellent castle and the hospitable hall. 

25. Write a short paper on each of the following 
subjects : — 

(i) The Moral Effect of The Vision of Sir 
Launfal in the Class Room. 

(2) The sin of pride and arrogance., and the 

beauty of syjnpathy and brotherly love 
taught and illustrated by the foem. 

(3) " Who gives himself ivitJt his aims feeds three — 

Himself^ his hungering neighbor^ a7id Me.^"" 



ENGLISH OUTLINE STUDIES 

By Maud Elma Kingsley, A.M. 

Adopted by the Boston School Board and used by thousands of teachers 
and schools throughout the country. They are undoubtedly the best helps in 
existence for the student of English. 



COLLEGE ENGLISH SERIES 

I Silas Marner, 2 Sir Roger de Coverley Papers. *3 Julius Caesar. 
*4 The Merchant of Venice. 5 The Vicar of Wakefield. 6 The Ancient 
Mariner. 7 Ivanhoe. 8 Carlyle's Essay on Burns. 9 The Princess. 10 The 
Vision of Sir Launfal. *ii Macbeth. 12 I>'Allegro and II Penseroso. 13 
Comus. 14 Lycidas. 15 Burke's Speech on Conciliation. 16 Macaulay's 
Essay on Milton. 17 Macaulay's Essay on Addison. 18 Macaulay's Life of 
Johnson. 19 Irving's Life of Goldsmith. 20 Lady of the Lake. 21 Idylls 
of the King. 22 Connecting Links for the College English. 



THE NEW COLLEGE ENGLISH 

42 The Deserted Village. 43 A Tale of Two Cities. 44 Pilgrim's Progress. 
45 Mazeppa and The Prisoner of Chillon. 46 Sohrab and Rustum. 47 Cran- 
ford. 48 Poe's Poems. 49 Franklin's Autobiography. *50 Twelfth Night. 
*5i King Henry V. 52 The Rape of the Lock. 53' Lorna Doone. 54 Lays 
of Ancient Rome. 55 Sesame and Lilies. 56 The Sketch Book. 57 Henry 
Esmond. 58 The English Mail Coach and Joan of Arc. 59 Webster's First 
Bunker Hill Oration and Washington's Farewell Address. 60 Prologue 
to Canterbury Tales. 61 Faerie Queene, Book I. 62 Heroes and Hero Wor- 
ship. 63 Essays of Elia. 

GRAMMAR GRADE SERIES 

23 Evangeline. 24 Courtship of Miles Standish. 25 Hiawatha. 26 Snow- 
bound. 27 Rip Van Winkle. 28 Legend of Sleepy Hollow 29 Lay of the 
Last Minstrel. 30 Marmion. 31 Man Without a Country. 32 Tales of a 
Wayside Inn. 33 Two Years Before the Mast. 34 Christmas Carol. 35 House 
of the Seven Gables. ^36 The Tempest, ^37 Midsummer Night's Dream. 
*38 Hamlet. *39 As You Like It. 40 Last of the Mohicans. 41 Saga of King 
Olaf. In Preparation: — 64 Sharp Eyes. 65 Treasure Island. 66 Brown- 
ing's Poems, selected. 67 Golden Treasury, selected. 68 Emerson's Essays, 
selected. 

Sixty-eight separate volumes, 15 cents each. 

♦Shakespeare Outlines are starred. Nos. 36 to 39 not intended for gram- 
mar grades. 



THE PALMER COMPANY, Publishers 
120 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 



LATIN OUTLINE STUDIES 

By Maud Elma Kingsley, A.M. 

I Caesar, Introduction and Book I. 2 Caesar, Books II to IV. 3 Cicero, 
Introduction and Oration I. 4 Cicero, Orations II to IV. 5 Cicero, Poet 
Archias and Manilian Law. 6 Vergil's ^Eneid, Book I. 7 Vergil's .(Eneid, 
Book II. 8 Vergil's ^Eneid, Book III. 9 V^ergil's ^Eneid, Books IV to V. 
10 Vergil's ^Eneid, Book VI. 

Exceedingly valuable alike to teacher and pupil. Admirable in their com- 
prehensive grasp of all the facts, historical, literary, scenic. Very helpful in 
reviewing, and a legitimate aid in "cramming" for examinations. 

They are bound in boards. Cloth Back. 10 separate vols. 
30 cents each, postpaid. 



OUTLINE OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 

By Maud Elma Kingsley, A.M. 

Boards. Cloth Back. 

Price, 30 Cents. Mailing Price, 35 Cents 



OUTLINE STUDY IN GEOGRAPHY 

By Maud E. Kingsley 

Suggests a new method of teaching this important subject, and can be used 
with any text book. 

Boards. Cloth Back. 37 pages. 
25 cents, postpaid. 

THE PALMER COMPANY,^ Publishers 
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